Cruising RCCL with an ALMOST 3-year old!

[austinHodge]

Hello,

 

My wife and I have an opportunity to cruise in November this year with our two boys, 2 and 5, on the Rhapsody of the Seas. The 2-year-old will be 2 months away from turning 3. Here are some questions:

 

1) Since he is fully potty-trained, will he be allowed in the kids programs that have a minimum age of 3? I guess I'm asking how strict is the 3-year-old requirement?

 

2) Do they determine his age by his birth certificate, or do they just ask his age when we take him to kids area? He would easily pass for a 3-year-old :)

 

3) If he isn't allowed to use these services, is it even worth us taking this cruise?

 

Thanks for any tips!

[shellie100]

Hello,

 

My wife and I have an opportunity to cruise in November this year with our two boys, 2 and 5, on the Rhapsody of the Seas. The 2-year-old will be 2 months away from turning 3. Here are some questions:

 

1) Since he is fully potty-trained, will he be allowed in the kids programs that have a minimum age of 3? I guess I'm asking how strict is the 3-year-old requirement?

 

2) Do they determine his age by his birth certificate, or do they just ask his age when we take him to kids area? He would easily pass for a 3-year-old :)

 

3) If he isn't allowed to use these services, is it even worth us taking this cruise?

 

Thanks for any tips!

 

He will not be allowed in the kids club.

 

However, my son was 3 on the last cruise and didn't like the kids club and so he didn't go, but we had a great time anyway. We went to the pool pretty much every sea day. But it would have been nice had he wanted to go in the evenings. Your son would probably be better about going to the kids club because his brother is there. So, you need to decide if it is very important to you that he be able to go to the kids club. If so, then I would say postpone the cruise until January or whenever he turns 3. You're probably getting very close to final payment, so you're going to need to decide soon. If you can at all wait, I probably would if I were you. It may be worth it.

 

Good luck deciding!

 

p.s. We are going on a family cruise this November and have purposely planned it for 2 days after my nephew turns 3. For us, it was just as easy to plan it after his birthday as before, so we fingured we'd wait a couple of weeks until he was 3, KWIM?

[wrp96]

Hello,

 

My wife and I have an opportunity to cruise in November this year with our two boys, 2 and 5, on the Rhapsody of the Seas. The 2-year-old will be 2 months away from turning 3. Here are some questions:

 

1) Since he is fully potty-trained, will he be allowed in the kids programs that have a minimum age of 3? I guess I'm asking how strict is the 3-year-old requirement?

 

They are strict about the ages, so no they won't let him in if he is not yet 3 even if he is fully potty trained. He will be able to go in the pools though.

 

2) Do they determine his age by his birth certificate, or do they just ask his age when we take him to kids area? He would easily pass for a 3-year-old :)

 

When you check in, you will have to provide his birth certificate to prove his age. A list with ages is then sent up to the Adventure Ocean staff. It isn't something you can fudge about.

 

3) If he isn't allowed to use these services, is it even worth us taking this cruise?

 

RCCL does have in cabin babysitting available for a fee, plus they do have a daily play time for toddlers and kids which you would be able to use.

[2Cruise4Ever]

All the cruise lines are very strict about the age for kids in the kids club. That's why we waited until our daughter turned 2 before we sailed as a family. NCL's minimum age is 2 and no, she didn't have to be potty trained. They just gave me a beeper and when she needed to be changed, they just beeped me - I went there, changed her, then took her back. Both the kids loved being at the kid crew (son was 7 at the time). They begged us every day to go there. You might want to wait until your son turns 3 before sailing. Or, you could try another line. I believe both Carnival and NCL have 2 as a minimum age.

[austinHodge]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Interestingly, my travel agent told me that 999 times out of 1000, they will allow kids who are almost 3 into the club if they are potty trained.

[kitty9]

Unfortunately, your travel agent is very wrong about this. On their website and in their brochures, it's very explicit that the age of any child is the age they are on the first day of the cruise---and they are considered that age whether they have a birthday during the cruise or not. This applies to kids and being of age for the club and for teens who might be just a few days short of their legal drinking/gambling age. No fudging on allowing kids under age three into the clubs, and being potty trained has nothing to do with the rules.

[crusinmama06]

Thanks for the tips everyone! Interestingly, my travel agent told me that 999 times out of 1000, they will allow kids who are almost 3 into the club if they are potty trained.

 

Yes, sorry I have to agree with the others. Two months away isn't "almost 3". I've had people ask that question even when kids were turning 3 on the cruise. And RCCL considers your child the age they are on the first day of the cruise.

 

My daughter will be turning 3, 2 days before our cruise. I booked it on that week for that reason.

 

Congrats on the potty training though. That's awesome! We are still working here.